Take Me

by Stevens, Shelli

  “There’s no time.” Megan closed the door, hands shaking. “Shift and then run. Run fast. It’s the only way you can possibly escape him.”

  “How far away is he?” Gemma’s voice came out remarkably calm as she fumbled to undo the buttons on her wedding dress.

  The cold fear began to subside, and a hot burn of rage blazed through her. How dare he? After five years, how dare he?

  Megan grabbed her arm and tugged her toward the door. “A mile. Maybe. And he’s not alone, Gemma. He’s brought friends. You must hurry! There’s no time to change out of your dress. Run, and I’ll find Jeffrey and tell him what’s happened.”

  “My dress will ruin during transition—”

  Crash!

  The door broke in half and splinters of wood shot into the interior of the cabin like tiny missiles.

  Heart in her throat, Gemma retreated, her body trembling as she stared at the man who now filled the doorway. The man who’d just made good on the appallingly dark promise he’d made just days ago in an e-mail. She’d been half-convinced it was a joke—someone toying with her heart—and had told Megan as much.

  But it wasn’t a joke. The proof was standing in front of her eyes. Maybe a couple of years ago she would have wished for this, but not now. Dammit, not now!

  Sweat clung to the hard muscles of Hunter’s nude body—it was clear he’d just shifted back to human form. A familiar heat crept through her body and she hardened her jaw, refusing to acknowledge it. The same way she’d refused to acknowledge it for the last five years.

  It was hard not to, though. With his dark hair and tan body; he was tall and broad, a mass of muscles and ridges. Her gaze dropped and her cheeks burned hot. She swallowed hard, unable to tear her gaze from his hard thighs and the thick cock that rested between them.

  The blood raged through her veins, and she closed her eyes to count to ten. When she opened them again, her gaze was firmly back on his face, unwilling to let her eyes shift any lower than his shoulders this time. That would be a guaranteed diversion from finding a way out of this situation.

  Unfortunately, five years had done nothing but enhance Hunter’s raw sex appeal.

  His eyes, burning like dark blue crystals, met hers. And, like the devil come to collect his due, he advanced into the room, his face a mask of fierce determination.

  Oh, God . She needed to act. Now. Swallowing the thickness in her throat, Gemma glanced around the room, looking for anything that might be used as a weapon. She grabbed the chair from her vanity table and lifted it above her head with a grunt.

  Hunter lunged forward and knocked it from her grasp, sending it crashing to the ground behind her. Before she could draw in a startled breath, he’d circled her wrists with one of his massive hands and pulled her body firmly against the rock-hard wall of his chest.

  “No!” She growled and lifted her knee to tag him in the groin, but he blocked the shot.

  Instead he pulled her tighter against him and forced his thigh between hers. His thick cock brushed her hip and she stilled, barely able to breathe as her heart slammed against her rib cage.

  His soft laugh feathered warm against her cheek. “You should have listened to your cousin, angel,” he leaned forward and said softly against her ear. “You should have run.”

  The blood drained from Gemma’s face and she heard Megan whimper from the corner of the room.

  Megan . Hope flared.

  “Megan, go find Jeffrey!”

  Her cousin lurched away from the wall and toward the doorway, but fell back with a shrill yell.

  Two more men—though these ones were clothed—filed through the broken entrance.

  “It appears we will have to take the younger one with us as well,” Hunter ordered with a sigh.

  “Me?” Megan squeaked in alarm. “No! You can’t—”

  Her words were cut off by the hand that slid over her mouth; then the burly man slid another arm around her waist to lift her off the ground.

  Panic resumed in her gut and Gemma tugged at her imprisoned wrists, her mouth in a tight line. “Let her go, Hunter. She has nothing to do with this.”

  “We will, angel. Tomorrow. We don’t want her running off to tell Jeffrey the minute we leave, now do we?”

  “Bastard.”

  His smile came slow. “Now, you know my mother well enough to know that’s not true.”

  Of course he would throw that at her. She bit her lip, trying to hold her temper. It wasn’t easy as she watched helplessly as the two men carried her cousin kicking and screaming out the door. Megan’s muffled sounds were ineffective at bringing them the help they desperately needed.

  Gemma drew in a slow breath. “You know, Hunter, I always suspected you were a bit certifiable. Congratulations, you’ve just confirmed it.”

  He caught her chin with rough fingers, lifting her face so she had to look at him. A shiver ran down her spine. Unfortunately, it may not have all been because of fear. His eyes narrowed, until the blue irises were just slits of blue. They burned hot as his gaze scoured her face.

  “Am I? You were the one about to marry a human.” His gaze darkened. “I gave you fair warning. Call off the wedding or I will do it for you.”

  “I’ll still marry him.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it.”

  “Oh! I’ll say it again, Hunter. You’re certifiable,” she repeated. As she tried to twist her chin from his grasp, his hold just tightened. “In fact, I’m sure you won’t mind if I just call you Certi from now on.”

  “Angel, I don’t care what the hell you call me.” His head lowered, until his mouth was just a breath above hers. “I’ll just look forward to hearing you call it when I’m riding you in bed.”

  Shock ripped through her, widening her eyes and snatching her breath away. Heat rushed through her body, curling thick down through her blood before gathering heavy in her pussy.

  His nostrils flared, and she knew his were side meant that he could smell the dampness between her legs that his image had created. Heat flooded her cheeks.

  “Like hell that will happen, Hunter.”

  “You want me, angel.” It wasn’t a question. And there was no asking when his lips crushed down on hers a second later.

  Gemma went rigid in his arms, letting out an outraged feline growl that was all jaguar.

  He answered with a deeper growl, plunging his tongue past her compressed lips to take control of her mouth.

  There was no fighting him. With each bold stroke of his tongue against hers, a little more common sense got swept away. He plundered her mouth, leaving no inch unexplored, controlling her tongue and mind with ease.

  The heat built in her body; her breasts swelled, the nipples tightening to scrape against the lace bustier beneath her dress. Five years dropped away and once again it was Hunter holding her, kissing her. Making her forget everything but his touch and the way it made her feel.

  His cock pressed hard into her belly, a tangible reminder of his promise to fuck her.

  With a groan, he released her chin to plunge his hand into her bodice. He cupped her breast in the palm of his hand, squeezing just enough to send another rush of moisture straight to her panties.

  Her head fell back, a gasp ripp
ing from her lips. The calloused pad of his thumb swept across one tight nipple, and her knees wobbled.

  His mouth lifted from hers, and he pulled her breast above the bodice. His head swooped down and he wrapped his lips around the hard tip. Hot breath and a moist tongue teased her, before his teeth raked against her flesh.

  “Oh God.” She trembled, minutes away from hiking up her wedding dress and begging him to fuck her.

  Wedding dress? Jeffrey! The name of the man she was supposed to marry in two hours resounded in her head. Who’s certifiable now, Gemma?

  Hunter reached for the hem of her dress, lifting it over her legs to cup her ass.

  Now, Gemma. Act now! Knowing she had an advantage—just barely—she grabbed his hair and stepped back enough to slam her knee into his chest.

  He stumbled back with a curse, eyes flashing with dismay and rage. It was only a second, but it was the break she needed.

  Gemma moved past him and sprinted out the door to the cabin that she’d been using to get ready for her wedding. She leapt off the porch and landed on the dirt path.

  Her heart slammed in her chest, her body trembling with adrenaline. Increasing her pace, she growled and willed the change to speed up. It didn’t take long. Her twenty-thousand-dollar designer dress exploded into a mass of pearl buttons and lace as her body shifted into its jaguar form.

  Seconds later she was on all fours, charging through the resort in a desperate attempt to escape Hunter. The thrashing of branches and trees behind her signaled that it was going to be one hell of a challenge.

  Dammit. How could he have been so stupid to get distracted by Gemma’s sweet body?

  Hunter snarled and dodged between two trees that appeared on one section of the trail.

  He shouldn’t have lost focus. As an ESA agent, he was better than that by nature. Their job was to protect and defend all shifter species from threats of corruption, danger, and violence. The Elite Shifter Agency only hired the best of the best. You had to be tough, intelligent, sharp, quick-minded… and definitely not lose your focus over a nice set of tits, you idiot.

  His fellow agents would laugh their asses off if they knew he’d gotten completely muddleheaded by a woman.

  He hadn’t been able to stop himself from touching her. But it had been a costly delay. He should have had her in the vehicle by now and they could’ve been halfway to White River. As it was, Joaquin and Brad were probably wondering where the hell he was.

  Hunter paused and breathed in the air, careful not to lose Gemma’s scent.

  She wasn’t even following the human-made trail anymore. His gaze darted around the lush forest. His ears listening for the sound of her escape. The sudden flash of yellow and brown between the trees was a dead giveaway to her location. Unlike him, Gemma’s jaguar form didn’t have the luxury of dark brown fur that hid his spots. Though she was desperate in her attempt to escape, she didn’t stand a chance.

  His resistance softened a bit with pity before he hardened it again. He couldn’t afford such a weakness. He gave a low growl and took off after her. Not that he could blame her for running. Not after what he’d done to her so many years ago. But what Gemma didn’t seem to quite understand was the cloud of danger lingering over her life right now. And at the center of that vortex was none other than her husband-to-be.

  Jealousy, like a hot brand iron, stabbed sudden and deep, twisting inside him. His paws hit the ground hard as he quickened his pace, jumping over bushes as he gained on her.

  She shouldn’t have been marrying Jeffrey Delmore in the first place. She was his. She’d sworn it. It didn’t matter that she’d been barely twenty at the time. It was one promise he intended to see she kept. Gemma belonged to him .

  Guilt twisted his gut, that he was completely out of line, but he refused to acknowledge it. Not now. Right now his primal side was in dominance and the chase was on to reclaim his woman.

  He was only about twenty feet behind her now and she must have realized she couldn’t outrun him much longer. He could hear the agitation in the growls she emitted while continuing to dodge through trees and beneath low brushes.

  And then she blew it, giving him the final advantage he needed. Her back legs caught on a tree root protruding from the ground and she stumbled, losing her balance before falling onto her side.

  She tried to get back up again, but the damage was done. Hunter used her moment of vulnerability and jumped on her. The weight of his body pinned hers to the ground.

  Fur flew as she swiped at him with her claws; jaws snapped at his neck but missed. They rolled on the hard earth, fighting for dominance.

  He locked gazes with her. “ Stop fighting me ,” he said with his mind.

  Rage flared in her gaze, and she continued to struggle beneath him.

  With a growl of frustration he caught her neck between his teeth, using just enough force to warn her she’d better yield. Relief washed through him when she stilled beneath him.

  Shift back, Gemma. Please, I don’t want to hurt you.

  She tried to swat him again with a claw, but he reared back, missing her attempt.

  Realizing fighting was futile, her eyes closed. The fur on her face slowly receded to show smooth ivory skin. She had chosen to obey. Quickly, to avoid crushing her, he rolled off her and shifted back to his human form.

  “You have no right,” she rasped.

  When he turned to look at her, his heart clenched a bit. She sat on the ground, her knees drawn up to her chest as she glared at him.

  Her pale skin seemed luminescent against the greens and browns of the forest. The tawny curls of her hair—which had always fascinated him—tumbled over her shoulders, shielding her breasts from him.

  His mouth pursed. Too bad . He hadn’t seen her naked in years, and it was quite obvious her body had changed since then. Her curves were bolder, whereas before they’d been slight.

  He lifted his gaze to hers, wincing slightly at how her brown eyes condemned him.

  “Let’s not make this any more difficult than it needs to be, angel.”

  “Oh, I think it was too late for that the minute you decided to interrupt my wedding day.”

  His jaw hardened and he stepped forward. “You will walk with me now to the vehicle.”

  “What’s option B?”

  “I’ll carry you.”

  Her nostrils flared and the arms around her knees tightened.

  “Let me think,” she murmured and then continued to watch him for a moment.

  Her lips parted a second later, but words didn’t come out. Instead the piercing scream she issued was guaranteed to raise the dead. Or bring her groom running.

  APHRODISIA BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2009 by Michelle Stevens

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  Aphrodisia and the A logo Reg. U.S. Pat & TM Off.

  ISBN: 0-7582-4382-0

 

 
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